On its higher bid, Fox said: “As the founding shareholder of Sky, we have remained deeply committed to bringing these two organisations together to create a world-class business positioned to deliver the very best entertainment experiences well into the future.

“We strongly believe that a combined 21st Century Fox and Sky will be a powerful driver for the continued growth and vibrancy of the UK and broader global creative industries.”

Sky shares fell nearly 2% following details of Fox’s raised bid.

Fox is waiting for a final decision from the UK Government on whether to accept its proposals over the sale of Sky News to address concerns over media plurality, given that the Murdoch family also owns News Corp – the publisher of a raft of UK newspapers.

Under its plans to offload Sky News to Disney, Fox has pledged to provide a Disney-owned Sky News channel with funding of at least £100 million a year for 15 years.

But if terms of a sale of Sky News cannot be agreed, Mr Hancock has already told Parliament the “only effective remedy now would be to block the merger altogether”.